Front Text: On this site stood the Zieger House, in which the first session of court in Circleville was held on April 26, 1811, the sessions continuing until April, 1814. The first meetings of Pickaway Lodge No. 23 Free and Accepted Masons were held here, beginning April 26, 1813, and continuing until 1825. Back Text: Same

Front Text: In 1772-73 missionary David Jones visited Blue Jacket's Town, a settlement of 12 cabins downstream on the east bank and Pickaweekee, a Shawnee town, on the west bank. Deercreek Methodist Circuit Deacon, Dr. Edward Tiffin, met settlers after 1798. Dr. Tiffin was later elected first governor of Ohio. A station of Virginia bounty-land settlers, "Williams Town," assembled here around 1797. Mill sites, established before Pickaway County, flourished in the dense oak forest of Deercreek Township. Frontier hotels in Williamsport prospered due to the "healthful" sulphur springs. Back Text: Development occurred rapidly in this area. In 1803 the first school was built in Deercreek Township, in 1810 the Christian Church, in 1812 Baker Mill, in 1813 Yates Mill, (restored in 1980), in 1816 a Post Office and in 1826 the Deercreek Methodist Circuit Class was organized. Williamsport incorporated in 1842. A separate village school system was established in 1874 and a high school operated from 1891-1964. A weekly newspaper was published from 1889-1979. From 1903-1929 theatrical companies featuring "Uncle Tom's Cabin" toured from Williamsport.

Front Text: Established as the county seat of Pickaway County in 1810, Circleville derives its name from the circular portion of a large Hopewell-era earthwork upon which it was built. The Circleville earthworks, described in 1772 by Rev. David Jones for a Boston magazine, comprised an 1,100 foot diameter circle connected to a 900 foot square. Town director Daniel Dreisbach platted the town directly atop the earthworks, integrating the town plan into the prehistoric landscape. An octagonal courthouse stood directly in the center. Back Text: By the mid-1830s dissatisfaction arose with Circleville's unique radial-concentric street layout. The Circleville Squaring Company, authorized by the State Assembly in 1837, undertook to convert the "peculiar" town plan into a conventional grid, and by 1856 had completed this work in several phases. Circleville occupies a unique place in the history of American town planning: not only as a subsequent development of Native American engineering, but also as the earliest known example of urban redevelopment in the United States.

Front Text: Across the road was the site of Camp Circleville, where members of the 90th and 114th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.) were mustered into service during the Civil War. Pickaway Township farmer Jacob Ludwig donated the land for the camp, which was then approximately two miles south of the Circleville at the southwest corner of Kingston Pike and the Circleville-Tarlton Road. The 90th O.V.I was mustered into service on August 29, 1862 to serve for three years. The unit saw action during some of the war's well-known western battles, including those at Perryville, Kentucky in October 1862; Stones River, Tennesee on December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863, and Chickamauga, Georgia in September 1863. Later, the 90th joined in General William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia in the spring and summer of 1864 and later that year was part of the Union force that fought in the Battles of Franklin and Nashville, Tennesee. At war's end, the unit was mustered out of service at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati in June 1865. During the regiment's service, five officers and 247 enlisted men were killed, mortally wounded, or died from disease. Back Text: Across the road was the site of Camp Circleville, where members of the 90th and 114th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.) were mustered into service during the Civil War. Pickaway Township farmer Jacob Ludwig donated the land for the camp, which was then approximately two miles south of the Circleville at the southwest corner of Kingston Pike and the Circleville-Tarlton Road. The 114th O.V.I was mustered into service on September 11, 1862 to serve for three years. The regiment participated in General Ulysses S. Grant's assaults against Vicksburg, Mississippi and in the siege of the city, which was the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. Vicksburg fell on July 4, 1863; in August, the 114th was transferred to Louisiana and Texas, thence to Florida after January 1865, and then back to Texas. Following the end of hostilities, the unit was mustered out of service in July 1865. During its service, the 114th O.V.I. lost three officers and 36 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, and five officers and 270 men to disease.

Front Text: In an effort to maintain peace with Native Americans, the British imposed the Proclamation Line of 1763, which prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Some settlers did not recognize British authority and continued to move westward. Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore, realizing that peace with Native Americans was improbable, amassed troops and headed west, camping at the Hocking River to meet with a unit commanded by Andrew Lewis. En route, Lewis's troops were attacked on October 10, 1774 at present day Point Pleasant, West Virginia, by a force of Delaware and Shawnee led by Cornstalk. Back Text: After intense battle, the Native Americans retreated north across the Ohio River to villages on the Pickaway Plains. At this point, Dunmore headed to the Shawnee villages to negotiate peace and set up camp at this site. The resulting Treaty of Camp Charlotte ended "Dunmore's War" and stipulated that the Indians give up rights to land south of the Ohio River and allow boats to travel on the river undisturbed. The Treaty of Camp Charlotte established the Ohio River as Virginia's boundary line, aiding in the settlement of Kentucky.

Front Text: The Grenadier Squaw Village was located between this area and Scippo Creek, upon the Pickaway Plains, the primary Shawnee settlement in Ohio. Non-hel-e-ma, born circa 1722, was the sister of the Shawnee Cornstalk and Silver Heels. Known as Grenadier Squaw because of her imposing stature, she spoke four languages, serving as peacemaker and interpreter. After the peace treaty with Lord Dunmore in 1774, and in spite of Cornstalk's murder, she remained allied with the Americans. On October 1, 1978, Non-hel-e-ma was honored with a marker in Logan Elm Park near to those for Chief Cornstalk and Chief Logan. The "Burning Ground," used as a site to burn captured prisoners at the stake, was located on the elevated hill just south of Grenadier Squaw's Village. The Council House was located slightly to the northwest. Back Text: Cornstalk's Town was located on the north bank of Scippo Creek, directly north of here. Cornstalk (Keigh-tugh-qua) had a commanding appearance and was known for his intellect and oration skills. As chief, Cornstalk led the Shawnees during Dunmore's War (a conflict stemming from land claims in Kentucky) at the Battle of Point Pleasant, Virginia, on October 10, 1774. The Shawnee retreated and, to avoid destruction of their villages on the Pickaway Plains, agreed to peace terms set by the Treaty of Camp Charlotte. While Cornstalk abided by the treaty, some Shawnee continued to attack white settlements. In 1777, Cornstalk traveled to the American post of Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant) to discuss the arising alliance between these Shawnee and the British and the threat to settlements in Virginia and Kentucky. As retaliation for a murder by an Indian raiding party, Chief Cornstalk and his son, Ellinipsico, were killed while at Fort Randolph.

Address: Near 4074 Emerson Road, CirclevilleLocation: Top of rise just W of 4074 Emerson Road

Front Text: In 1870, African American men in Circleville attempted to vote in municipal elections. Despite the recent ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, pollsters refused their votes on the basis that state law forbade them from receiving the ballots. The Second Baptist Church was the site of a meeting of 147 African American men seeking redress. Together with Republican leaders these men produced petitions that were sent to the United States Senate and House of Representatives. These petitions gave the Republican Party the grounds to introduce bills to enforce the Fifteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The passage of the Enforcement Act of 1870 imposed criminal penalties for interference with the right to vote and also helped to shift power and authority from the individual state legislatures to the centralized Federal government. Back Text: Same

Front Text: Born in North Adams, Massachusetts on December 23, 1778, Caleb Atwater graduated from Williams College in 1804. He moved to Circleville in about 1814 where he organized the city's first school board and served as postmaster and prosecuting attorney. His life and work as a teacher, minister, lawyer, legislator, and scholar greatly influenced early 19th-century Ohio. Upon arriving in Circleville, he became interested in local history and the nearby earthworks and in 1820 published his book Descriptions of the Antiquities Discovered in the State of Ohio and Other Western States, the first compilation of prehistoric remains in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Elected to the Ohio State Legislature in 1821, Atwater fervently supported canal construction. He also chaired Ohio's first board of school commissioners and was instrumental in passage of Ohio's Public School Law. For this, he has been called the "Father of Ohio's Common Schools." (continued on other side) Back Text: (continued from other side) The many writings of Caleb Atwater reveal that he was a man ahead of his time and with far reaching views. As one of three commissioners appointed by President Andrew Jackson in 1829 to negotiate a treaty with tribes at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Atwater wrote a volume that gave a more insightful and fairer view of Native Americans than most writers of his time. In 1838, he published his History of Ohio, which provided early thoughts on conservation and ecology. Three years later, he wrote "An Essay on Education," which presented advanced views on music and education for women, pay standards for teachers, and equal education for men and women. Atwater's writings on geology, meteorology, archaeology, and history formed a catalyst in the scholarly ferment of the Ohio Valley, and scholars today are still intrigued by this eccentric and fascinating visionary.

Front Text: Tah-gah-jute, the Mingo chief named Logan, was a native of Pennsylvania. Logan moved to Ohio in 1770, and settled at the Pickaway Plains. Logan and his father, Shikellimus, had long supported friendships between Native Americans and white men; however, in the spring of 1774, his tribesmen and family were murdered at Yellow Creek, along the Ohio River. Once an advocate of peace, Logan went on the warpath and raided frontier settlements. These and similar raids along the Ohio frontier precipitated Lord Dunmore's War in October 1774. After the Shawnees and their allies were defeated at Point Pleasant, Virginia governor Lord Dunmore marched up the Hocking River to the Pickaway Plains. Dunmore asked his interpreter, Colonel John Gibson, to assist in negotiations with Cornstalk and other Indian leaders, including Logan. Logan declined to attend the conference, but spoke to Gibson about his anger and betrayal. Back Text: It was here under a large elm tree that Chief Logan was said to have delivered his powerful speech on Indian-white relations, which Gibson delivered to Lord Dunmore at Camp Charlotte. Logan's lamentation was printed widely and appeared in newspapers in New York, Philadelphia, and Williamsburg in 1775. The speech is inscribed on the Chief Logan Monument, worded as it was related to President Thomas Jefferson. Once considered to be one of the largest elms in the United States, the 65 feet tall elm died in 1964 after being stricken with blight and damaged by storms. Through the efforts of the Ohio History Day Association, this location was dedicated as Logan Elm Park. The Ohio Historical Society currently operates the Logan Elm State Memorial.

Front Text: Major General William Sooy Smith was born in Tarlton on July 22, 1830. He attended Ohio University and supported himself throughout his college undergraduate career, graduating in 1849. He then entered the United States Military Academy at West Point to pursue engineering and graduated 6th in the class of 1853. In 1857, Smith established the private engineering firm Parkinson & Smith and made the first surveys for the international bridge across the Niagara River near Niagara Falls. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Smith joined the 13th Ohio Infantry, winning the commission of colonel in June 1861. After early victories in western Virginia, he was promoted to brigadier general in April 1862 for his gallant and meritorious service at the Battle of Shilo. (continued on other side) Back Text: (continued from other side) After brilliant service in the Vicksburg campaign, Smith was promoted to major general and became chief of cavalry for the Department of Tennessee and later the Military Division of Mississippi, working under both General Ulysses S. Grant and General William T. Sherman. Following a controversial defeat at the hand of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest at Okolona, Mississippi, Smith left military service to reestablish his engineering firm. He became an internationally known expert on bridges and foundations. In 1867, he sank the first pneumatic caisson in building the Waugoshanee lighthouse at the Straits of Mackinaw and built the first all-steel bridge, constructed over the Missouri River at Glasgow, Missouri. He was awarded the American Centennial Exposition prize in 1876 for his bridge designs. He retired to Medford, Oregon, dying there in 1916.